Manchester City’s Cliffhanger Finale Ends 44-Year Wait for Title

By James Cone -
May 13, 2012

Manchester City kept its long-
suffering fans waiting right until the end for the club’s first
English soccer championship in 44 years.

City scored twice in stoppage time to beat 10-man Queens
Park Rangers 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium yesterday, just as
Manchester United appeared set to nose out its cross-town rival
and secure a record-extending 20th title.

“We did it the hard way,” City manager Roberto Mancini
said in comments on his team’s website. “I am told that is the
City way.”

Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero’s late goals gave City the
title on goal difference ahead of United, which won 1-0 at
Sunderland. City’s comeback sealed a turnaround late in the
season after it trailed United by eight points with six games
left. It won all its remaining matches, including a 1-0 win
against United on April 30.

City was a perennial underachiever in elite English soccer,
even dropping into the third-tier division in 1998. Since Abu
Dhabi’s Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan bought the team in
2008, he’s spent about $1 billion to lift the club from under
the shadow of United.

“The supporters have never lost faith or patience, even in
the last five minutes today, and we are so pleased that this
season, we have delivered some history for them,” Mancini said.

Pablo Zabaleta gave City a halftime lead before QPR rallied
with goals from Djibril Cisse and Jamie Mackie. In between the
visiting team’s goals, Joey Barton was red-carded after a clash
with Carlos Tevez. Barton then kicked out at Aguero before he
left the field.

Aguero Winner

Dzeko brought City level before Aguero got the winner to
give City its third league title, and first since 1968.

Before the late goals, United appeared set for a 20th
championship after Wayne Rooney scored at Sunderland. United’s
tally of 89 points was the most by any team that failed to win
the Premier League in a 38-game season.

“We congratulate Manchester City,” United manager Alex Ferguson told reporters. “Anyone who wins the league deserves
to win it because it’s a very, very difficult league to win. We
have a rich history, better than anyone, and it will take them a
century to get to our level of history.”

QPR avoided relegation even with the defeat. Bolton dropped
to the second-tier Championship after being held to a 2-2 draw
by Stoke City. Blackburn Rovers and Wolverhampton Wanderers
already had been demoted.

Arsenal took the third spot in the league, the final
position that guarantees entry to Europe’s Champions League next
season. Fourth-place Tottenham will enter the competition in the
qualifying stages unless Chelsea beats Bayern Munich in the
final on May 19.

QPR Rallies

City had to wait until the 39th minute to take the lead
when Zabaleta got his first goal in a year. The full-back’s shot
went through goalkeeper Paddy Kenny’s hands and into the net.

QPR rallied three minutes after half time with Cisse’s
sixth goal in eight matches. The Frenchman intercepted an
attempted backpass by Joleon Lescott before firing the ball past
Joe Hart. He has either scored or been red-carded in each of his
games for the club since joining in January.

QPR went a man down after Barton tussled with Tevez and
aimed an elbow at the striker’s face, resulting in a red card.

Instead of City taking advantage, it was QPR that scored
next as Mackie beat Hart with a diving header on a rare attack.

City brought on strikers Dzeko and Mario Balotelli as it
searched for goals. Dzeko headed in from close range, then
Balotelli passed to Aguero to set up the Argentine forward for
the title-clinching goal, his 23rd league of the season.

‘Never Again’

“You want to say it’s the best moment of your life but, if
I’m honest, please never again this way,” City captain Vincent Kompany said in a televised interview.

United had kept up the pressure by winning. Rooney headed
in Phil Jones’s cross after 20 minutes at the Stadium of Light.

Rooney had other chances, missing four minutes later from
close range and hitting the outside of a post with a free kick.

Arsenal rallied at West Bromwich Albion to win 3-2 and hold
on to third position, one point ahead of Tottenham. Yossi Benayoun, Andre Santos and Laurent Koscielny scored for the
Gunners. Robin van Persie was unable to add to his league-high
tally of 30 goals.

Spurs beat Fulham 2-0, Newcastle’s challenge for Champions
League qualification ended with a 3-1 defeat at Everton, and
sixth-place Chelsea won 2-1 against Blackburn.

Bolton Relegation

Bolton was denied a win that would have kept it in the
elite division on a 77th-minute penalty kick by Stoke’s Jonathan
Walters, who also got the home team’s opener. Mark Davies and
Kevin Davies put Bolton ahead before halftime.

Last-place Wolves slipped to another defeat, 3-2 at Wigan,
Aston Villa ended its season with a 2-0 defeat at Norwich, and
Swansea striker Danny Graham scored a late goal in a 1-0 victory
against Liverpool.

With 32 goals scored yesterday, a record of 1,066 was set
for the most in a Premier League season.